1930's Media | The Rise of National Magazines

First Issue of Life

Magazine cover, Photograph, Essay

By: Life

Date: November 23, 1936

Source: Life, November 23, 1936.

First Issue of Look

Magazine cover, Magazine article

By: Look

Date: January 1937

Source: Look, January 1937.

About the Publications: Life was founded in 1936 as a pictorial news magazine by publisher Henry R. Luce (1898–1967), who also founded Time in 1923, Fortune in 1930, and Sports Illustrated in 1954. It published weekly until 1972, and beginning in 1978 it shifted to publishing monthly issues. Look magazine was launched in 1937, shortly after the debut of Life. Like Life, its focus was on photojournalism, using photos to tell its readers about the world. Look was Life's major...